New Delhi: A day after Rashtriya Lok Dal president Ajit Singh met Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Samajwadi party President Mulayam Singh called on Gandhi, on May 29 and is understood to have sought her support in formation of a secular alternative of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led government in Uttar Pradesh.

It was a one-to-one meeting between the two leaders that lasted for about 30 minutes, Congress party sources said.

Yadav told repoters after the meeting the situation was deteriorating day-by-day in the state and people were living in fear and if Ajit Singh can do some thing in this scenario, it was a welcome step.

"Everybody is frightened. Uttar Pradesh is completely ruined. In this political scenario, if UP is ruined, Hindustan is ruined. If Ajit Singh can do something, it is welcome," said the former chief minister who has been slapped with over 150 charges by the Mayawati government.

Yadav's meeting, the second in the last three months, assumes significance as it came a day before Congress party is holding a conclave of its chief ministers to deliberate upon crucial matters of governance, ahead of assembly elections in five states.

The conclave may take a decision on the issue of tie-up with like-minded political parties in the states where it was weak, including Uttar Pradesh as was suggested by senior Congress leader Arjun Singh recently, which generated considerable debate in the party.

After Singh virtually snapped ties with NDA (National Democratic Alliance) government at the Centre and BSP-BJP coalition government in UP, by quitting Union Cabinet recently and withdrawing five of RLD (Rashtriya Lok Dal) ministers from the Mayawati government.

In the 1999 Lok Sabha polls, RLD had an electoral tie-up with Congress but it ended soon after Singh joined Union Cabinet headed by Atal Behari Vajpayee.

SP leaders Yadav and Amar Singh had approched Congress leadership on several occasions to form a coalition government to keep "communal and opportunistic forces" out of power but did not succeed as Congress repeatedly said, "it is not involved in toppling game of any government".

PTI



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